Just Say It Once
by DCFanatic4life
Summary: Dolph Ziggler really shouldn't have left his phone where his brother could get his hands on it, now his brother has a plan in mind, and where does AJ factor into all this? Dolph/AJ [Completed]
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or real people depicted in this story. The characters belong to WWE, and the people own themselves. Pretty tame story, so read to your heart's content.**

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><p>AN: I was talking with Carly last month around Christmas, and this story popped into my head, so I'm writing it down. It takes place around Christmas, and for the story's purpose, AJ is single. That's all you need to know going in. I hope you enjoy it, and please review and let me know if I should continue it or not. Thanks. :)

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><p>Dolph nearly ran up the steps to his parents' house, his suitcase dragging behind him. The air was so frigid, and no matter how many years he'd lived here, no matter how many times he visited, the cold still stabbed at him like it hated him. It was like he was just born to be in warmer climates, which made living in Phoenix ideal. He stopped at the front door, knocking loudly because he didn't want to dig around for his keys. The door swung open and he saw his younger brother on the other side.<p>

Dolph nearly pushed his brother out of the way to get inside, stomping his feet to rid them of the snow they accumulated from the space between his rental and the front door. Ryan scowled at his brother, but then looked behind him. "Hey, where's your girlfriend?"

"My what?" Dolph turned to him in question, wondering what his brother was even going on about.

"Your girlfriend, you know, the girl who is more than your friend."

"I have no idea who you're talking about," Dolph shook his head. "I haven't had a girlfriend this year, which is kind of depressing now that I think about it, the year is almost over, it's almost 2014, and I spent 2013 without a girlfriend."

"Wow, talk about droughts," Ryan said.

"Hey, I never said that," Dolph pointed at him, smirking a little bit. Ryan rolled his eyes at his brother's antics. He was not going to pry and ask whom he might have slept with; there were just some things he didn't need to know about his brother's love life. "Wait, who did you think was my girlfriend? Lauren? Because we're just friends."

"No, AJ," Ryan said like it should have been obvious.

Dolph's eyes widened considerably, but only very briefly before his face went blank, "What? Um, bro, you do know the difference between storylines and real life, don't you? Because if you don't, I'm not sure the wrestling business is for you."

"Really? Wow, now I find out, it only took me 29 years, but thanks," he said sarcastically, making a face at his brother. "I thought you two were together."

"Yeah, no," Dolph said, walking into the house. "Where is everyone? I thought everyone would be here when I got in."

"Of course, of course, because you've got to be the center of attention, the one that everyone greets with a hero's welcome, right? God, bro, get off the high horse every once in a while."

"I thought there would a parade, I was looking forward to sitting on top of the float," he said, "but seriously, where is everyone?"

"Um, Mom and Dad are at some Christmas party thing with one of their friends, Donny is at his place, and so it's just you and me, and well, I thought it was going to be you and me and AJ, but I guess not."

Dolph just scoffed, "I don't know why you even thought that, I've never given any indication that I was with her. We were together for a storyline, now we're not together in that storyline, so we're back to being coworkers."

"Really? You're just back to being coworkers?" Ryan said.

"Yup, so I'm going to go put my things upstairs in my room, and we'll order in a pizza or something, I'm starving," Dolph said, "I grabbed a burrito before leaving this morning, but haven't had anything since. Can you order?"

"Yeah, sure," Ryan said, walking into the kitchen as Dolph went to the front door where his suitcase was sitting.

Ryan was very confused. He really, honestly thought AJ and his brother were dating. He wasn't the only one either. His mother thought it too, saying that she was hoping Dolph was bringing her for Christmas because she hadn't seen her since Raw was last in Cleveland. Everyone just thought they were trying to hide it for now because it was probably new. That was why nobody brought it up at Thanksgiving even though everyone kept hinting about it. His dumbass brother apparently didn't pick up on any of the hints.

Whenever he talked to Dolph, the subject of AJ always came up, even if they weren't discussing anything wrestling-related. Something would just remind Dolph of a story about AJ or they'd talk about something and his brother would comment on how much AJ liked or disliked it. Now his brother was denying ever having feelings for AJ when it was pretty clear his brother had a lot of them, and none of them seemed friendly.

He went into the kitchen to order the pizza, still thinking about how his brother had to be lying. There was no way he didn't have feelings for AJ. This was just Dolph being Dolph though. When he was around women he liked, he lost his cool. He became shy, awkward, and he could just imagine him trying to act aloof around AJ and completely failing. His brother just wasn't smooth when it came to women he actually wanted to be with, he'd seen it a million times growing up. Some women found it endearing.

"Did you order?" Dolph said, coming into the kitchen and seeing his brother just standing there. "Are you kidding? You're just standing there and you couldn't order?"

"You were gone like a second!" Ryan said, grabbing the phone and dialing the pizza number his parents kept on the fridge just for occasions like this. He ordered the pizza as he watched his brother grab a water from the fridge and take a few chugs of it. "Okay, ordered, one for you, one for me, and all the leftovers for mom and dad."

"Great," Dolph said.

"So AJ really isn't your girlfriend?"

"No! How many times do I have to say it, she's not my girlfriend, she's never been my girlfriend, alright? We're just friends, we're close now, but that's what happens when you have your tongue in someone's mouth for the majority of a year," he said, "she's one of my best friends."

"Best friends? That's not something you toss around a lot."

"Because I don't have that many, but she is, she's great," Dolph shrugged carelessly. "I mean, she's really funny, and she can keep up with me, which is great, it's good to have someone like that, that I can travel with and stuff."

"Yeah, but isn't that what you've always said you wanted in a woman?"

"So? Doesn't mean I don't want it in friends," Dolph shrugged, taking another sip of his water. He looked at his brother, who was just staring straight back at him. "What?"

"So you mean to tell me, if AJ came in here right now, confessed her love for you, was like, 'Oh, Nick, I'm _so_ in love with you!'" Ryan flounced his arms around and batted his eyelashes exaggeratedly, "you would honestly turn her down? Really?"

"Well, if she came here saying all that, I'm not going to turn her down because she's beautiful, but she's not my girlfriend, get over it," Dolph told him, but Ryan thought he was putting up some kind of front. He couldn't understand why his brother wouldn't make a move. AJ wasn't going to stay single forever, and she could do a lot worse than his brother.

"Mmhmm," Ryan folded his arms.

"You're so weird," Dolph shook his head. "I didn't come home to get interrogated. Where's _your_ girlfriend? Oh, wait, you don't have one either. So you should just shut your mouth about things you don't know."

"Awfully angry about something that isn't a big deal," Ryan pointed out.

"I'm going to take a shower before the pizza gets here, I'll pay, just take what you need out of my wallet," Dolph grabbed his wallet and his phone from his back pocket and placed them on the counter. "I need to get this plane grime off me."

"Okay," Ryan said, watching as his brother disappeared from sight. He glanced over at the wallet and phone sitting on the counter, and a very bad idea came to his brain. Oh, it was very bad, and he really shouldn't, he really, really shouldn't. It wouldn't be a good idea to do what he was thinking. It wouldn't be a good idea at all. Yet, there it was, sticking in his brain, urging him forward. He walked out of the room a little and could hear the water just starting to run.

He walked back into the kitchen and at the phone sitting there innocently in its pink case. His brother loved pink as much as Ryan loved sharks. It was almost a sickness with him. If he picked it up, it wouldn't be hurting anyone, would it? No, of course not, he would put it back where it was. He picked it up and turned it over in his hands. It wouldn't hurt to see if his brother still used the same passcode on this he did on everything else, would it? He was just curious to see if his brother was as predictable as he'd always been.

He punched in the four digit number that corresponded with his brother's first televised match, 1024, and the phone unlocked. Ryan gave a small chuckle, his brother never really changed, and now that his phone was unlocked, it wouldn't hurt to just look at his contacts. It wasn't like he was going to spy on his brother's texts or something, he was better than that. He would never stoop _that_ low. Sticking his head out of the kitchen, he heard the shower still running and was glad his brother still took insanely long showers.

He went to his brother's contacts and scrolled to the start of the M's, figuring that he'd put AJ's full name so it would be under Mendez. He slowly went through the M's, rolling his eyes at how many numbers his brother had in his phone. There was no way he talked to all these people. He went from Mellon to Mendoza, and there was no Mendez to be found. That was weird. Did he not have AJ in his phone? Maybe she was under Lee for some reason. He scrolled back up to the L's, but there was no AJ Lee there. Then he thought maybe she would be under just AJ, so he went back up to the A's, and nope, no AJ there either.

He was shocked that AJ wouldn't be in his phone. He was so sure they were close, but he didn't have her number? That was like big time nowadays, having someone's phone number meant something. Maybe he just missed it in the M's. He scrolled back down to the M's, and he looked through the names again. His thumb slipped a little and went to the N's when he saw it. He scoffed as he read it, _My Little AJ_. She was in his phone as "My Little AJ."

"Pfft, not in love with her, yeah fucking right," Ryan muttered to himself. He knew he was right, he knew he was right all along. His brother was completely crazy about AJ, and he just didn't want to admit it because he actually liked her and this is what he did, he waffled around forever until finally working up the courage to ask her out, but how long would that take, and would AJ even be single if that happened? She was a gorgeous girl, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to realize that there were a lot of guys who would do anything to be with her. If his brother didn't make a move, he might lose his shot.

He didn't want that to happen. He knew that AJ made his brother happy. He'd hung out with her a number of times when he was still with WWE. His brother would come to visit him in Tampa, and without fail, Dolph would somehow fit AJ into their time together. He saw the way his brother looked at her when she wasn't looking, he saw the way she laughed at everything he said. Ryan saw it all, and he couldn't believe his brother wasn't with her when Ryan had never seen him happier than talking with her, and boy did they get lost in their own world when they talked. Sometimes he felt uncomfortable and very third wheel when they got lost in each other.

So…if his brother wasn't going to do anything, maybe he could…

Without thinking (because thinking would only make him changes his mind), he went to his brother's messages and without fail, his little AJ was one of the last people he was texting with. He spied because he was a horrible human being, and his brother was an idiot. The last thing they talked about was traveling together for the holiday tour, but they were doing so with Big E. Ryan rolled his eyes, leave it to his brother to have the chance to be alone with AJ, but muck it up by inviting someone else. Well, he was going to fix that…and fix his brother.

_Hey, me again, what do you say we ride alone?_

The shower was off now when he listened, but he had a few minutes, his brother would have to look impeccable and probably blow-dry…yup, there went the blow dryer. _Um, okay, sure._ The reply came quickly. _I guess I'll tell E to get his own ride?_

_I'm sure he can ride with someone, I really want to be alone with you._

_You do, but why?_

_Because I really like you._

Oh yeah, Dolph was going to kill him.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you SO much for all the reviews and stuff for the first chapter. I'm really glad you're intrigued by the story. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please review again, I'd really appreciate it, thanks! :)

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><p><em>You do?<em>

_Yeah I do_

Ryan could hear his brother coming down the stairs, and he quickly put Dolph's phone down. Then he just as quickly picked it back up and thought about pocketing it so he could continue his conversation with AJ. But then his brother would be looking for his phone, and that would be even worse. He wanted his brother to talk to AJ, but then again, that could be bad because he was within striking distance of his brother, and if Dolph knew what he'd just done, he was going to be sporting his Christmas gift from his brother in the form of a black eye.

He had to think quick, and so he typed as fast as he could, _I'll talk to you later_

The response was so immediate, she must have been staring at her phone, which must have been open to their conversation. _You can't just say that and go!_

_I'm sorry, I have to!_

He exited out of his messages, and he put the phone back on the counter where it was. Dolph was in the room a second later, "God, I feel so much better now, pizza's not here yet?"

"No, not yet, should be soon," Ryan said, glancing over at his Dolph's phone, hoping against hopes that AJ just accepted that they would talk later, and not message him again. Until the pizza got here though or until AJ blew this whole thing up with a new text, he really had to get the truth out of his brother. "She's kind of changed you though."

Dolph spun around to look at his brother in confusion, "What are you talking about now?"

"AJ," Ryan answered, and Dolph rolled his eyes. It was such a defense mechanism for his brother to just brush things off. He did that a lot, he would make jokes or make light of something that in actuality really frustrated him. It as just his way of trying to deflect from the real issues at hand.

"Why are we back to talking about her?" Dolph asked. "I thought that I explained that she wasn't my girlfriend, and we're just friends, really good friends."

"You don't see it of course because you don't necessarily see the changes in yourself. It's other people who notice them first. You're different now, you've been different since her, and it's like, look, I know you're a guy who when you're in a relationship, you're really good at it, sort of. Like, when you love a girl, you're like Mr. Devoted. But it's different with AJ."

"Because she's not my girlfriend, so of course it's going to be different, there's a different dynamic," Dolph tried to explain it away, but Ryan wasn't going to let him off that easy. Not this time, and not with this girl. It wasn't like Ryan got involved in Dolph's love life all the time or anything, but when he could see, as plain as day, that his brother was in love with someone, someone who could possibly be _the one_, he had to help somehow. It was like his familial duty to do so.

"Yeah, but I mean, really, it's kind of really, really different," Ryan said carefully. "Don't you think that there's something more going on. I mean, didn't everyone think there was more going on? I had so many of our friends asking if you were actually with her."

"Women?" Dolph asked with a smirk.

Ryan rolled his eyes and shook his head a little, "You're not fooling me, man. I'm your brother. You may be able to fool other people, but why won't you just admit that you have feelings for AJ? Is it really that hard to think about how you might have feelings for the girl?"

"It's because I don't," Dolph told him, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know why you want to make a big deal out of this, but I assure you, I'm not in love with AJ, I mean, she's great, I love her as a friend, but it's nothing more."

The doorbell rang then, signaling their pizza had come. Dolph grabbed his wallet, slapped his brother on the back, and walked out of the room. Ryan still didn't believe his brother, and as soon as he was out of the room, grabbed his brother's phone again and unlocked it, going back to his brother's messages.

_Hey, sorry about that, family and everything_

She still must have had her phone near because the response was quick. _It's ok can we talk though?_

_Later._ Ryan didn't know how he was going to make that happen, but he'd be damned if this night didn't end with his brother finally confessing his feelings for the petite brunette who seemed to take over his life. He deleted as many messages as he could get to before Dolph came in with the pizzas. He set them on the counter and grabbed a couple plates from the cupboard, sliding one over to his brother.

"We're bothering with plates?"

"If Mom comes home and sees us just eating pizza from the box, she'll have a fit," Dolph said, putting a couple slices on his plate before heading into the living room. Ryan watched as Dolph settled into the couch, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV. This gave Ryan the opportunity to get back on Dolph's phone. He knew his brother was going to kill him, but maybe the fact he'd have AJ at the end of all this would grant him a pardon or at least some mercy.

_Is it okay to call you around midnight?_

_Yeah, sure, we definitely need to talk_

_I think so too_

_You really like me?_

_Yeah I do_

_We'll talk at midnight then, later_

_Later_

Ryan deleted these messages too, and now he only had a few hours to get his brother to admit his feelings, and a few hours to tell him what he did. Unless he didn't, and he messaged AJ to call around midnight, that was a thought. But he didn't want to put AJ on the spot like that. It would just be better if he told the truth. Yes, he should tell the truth, but first his brother needed to tell the truth.

He grabbed his plate and brought it back into the living room. His brother had on a hockey game, it looked like the Penguins vs. Senators, and he settled into the couch as they both ate in silence. Once he was finished with his first slice, he looked at his brother. "Would it be so terrible if you did like AJ?"

"Oh my God! Quit it!" Dolph practically yelled. "How many times do I have to say it? I don't have feelings for AJ, we're just friends, God, can you just stop it because it's getting completely out of hand now, and it's annoying, and maybe _you_ want to date AJ, and if so, go ahead because she can date whomever she wants, even if it's a complete jerk who isn't worthy of her."

And now they were at the root of the problem, "So you think there's another guy?" Ryan called him out.

"What? No, I'm just saying that she can date whoever she wants."

"So she's seeing someone, and that's why you don't want to admit that she's the woman you're in love with because you think that it's futile if you think for even one second that she's interested in you."

"Stop it," Dolph practically shoved an entire slice of pizza into his mouth to avoid talking to his brother.

"I'm not going to stop it because it's obvious you like her."

"I don't want to talk about it," Dolph mumbled around his massive bite of pizza.

"Who is it? Do you know? Maybe you're wrong. You wouldn't ruin your friendship if you told her, you know? I mean, if worse comes to worse, she says no and you move on, and that's okay, it doesn't have to be a big deal. You're friends with all your exes, and so you'd continue being friends with her."

"You think it's that simple?" Dolph asked. "You just think that if I told her I liked her, and she didn't, she would just go back to being friends, that we _could_ go back to being friends? It would be awkward, and she would avoid me."

"So you do like her?"

"Of course I like her!" Dolph exclaimed. "I mean, come on, what's not to like, she's perfect. She's beautiful, she gets me, she can keep up with me, did I mention she's beautiful? She's got this sense of humor that just kind of sneaks up on you, and she's got a ton of dirty jokes, which surprised me. She's great."

"So why do you think she's interested in someone?"

"Celeste told me," Dolph said. "She told me that AJ is interested in a guy, and that she's been hanging out with him even when they're not at shows, and so this guy probably lives in Florida if they're hanging out together. So she sees him on our off days. I think it's Jon. She's always talked about how she had a crush on The Shield, which probably means that she has a crush on Jon since he's the only single one, and it makes me sick to my stomach. Celeste said that AJ is just waiting for this guy to make a move because she's too shy to make the first move, which shouldn't endear me to her more, but it does."

"Why don't you just tell her how you feel and see?"

"No, look, don't worry about it, life goes on, there are plenty of other fish in the sea," Dolph turned his attention back to the television.

"What? Like the girls on Twitter you've become friends with, I believe they are what the children call thirsty," Ryan told him.

Dolph shrugged. "I didn't say that I wanted any of those fish. Can we just not talk about AJ? I have to see her the day after Christmas as it is, and we're exchanging gifts, and I don't know what she got me, and it's probably something small, and I'm freaking out because I got her something nice, and I don't know, she's probably going to read too much into it, especially since she's not interested."

Ryan wasn't so sure that was actually the case. It seemed like Kaitlyn was talking about Dolph maybe. It was possible. Maybe he and AJ were just kind of dancing around each other. Kaitlyn could have been trying to hint to Dolph to make a move, to make _the_ move, but his stupid, dense, hard-headed idiot of a brother wasn't picking up on the fact that Kaitlyn was knocking him over the head with information. Of course, this all hinged on AJ having feelings for Dolph, but that's what it sounded like. He just needed some confirmation.

He excused himself and walked into the kitchen, grabbing his own phone, and scrolling through the contacts. He had Kaitlyn's number because they were both friends with Derrick, and had hung out a few times. He glanced into the living room to see his brother occupied by the hockey game and walked out into the hallway where he was out of earshot.

"Ryan?"

"Hey, Celeste," he said, "I know this is weird and out of the blue, but I was just talking with my brother, and he told me that you talked to him about AJ, and how she liked a guy, and how they hung out after shows, and all of that, and I was just thinking about it, and I was thinking that we might be on the same team here."

"What do you mean the same team?" Kaitlyn asked, and she sounded like she was settling down to get into the nitty gritty of this conversation.

"I think that you were talking about my brother, trying to make him make a move on your best friend. So tell me, were you talking about Nick as being the one that AJ is interested in?" He heard Kaitlyn laugh for a moment before answering.

"Of course I am."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks for the feedback. I think there will be one more chapter after this one, just to let you know ahead of time. Hope you enjoy the chapter, and please review, thanks. :)

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><p>"No, no, no, you shouldn't tell them."<p>

"You're saying that I should have AJ call my brother without either of them knowing? Don't you think that's extreme? I mean, that would be uncomfortable, don't you think?"

"So what? It's about time they figure it out or she confesses or he confesses, something needs to push them together," Kaitlyn said. "I mean, they can't go the rest of their lives dancing around each other and pretending like they aren't in love with each other, it's about time they do something."

"Well, technically it's _me_ doing something," Briley said. "I'm the one who set it in motion because I could have sworn they were together already. I expected her to be here with him."

"Believe me, if I could just smoosh their faces together, I would have done it a long time ago," Kaitlyn said. "AJ keeps waiting for him to make the first move, which I guess you made for her. I should call her and see if she tells me about it. I bet she'd scream into my ear, better not chance that."

"So what do you think I should do? Should I tell my brother? Should I text AJ and tell her to call at midnight and not my brother?"

"I don't think you should do anything," Kaitlyn said after a few moments of mulling. "I didn't realize you were actually serious about that. That's a little cruel, I mean, if he doesn't call, she's going to be upset, and I don't want her to be upset about this."

"Or," Kaitlyn elongated the word, "AJ gets really upset and calls your brother and it all comes out of their own doing, _and_ it gives you a head-start to get the hell out of that house before your brother kills you for what you did."

"You bring up a good point," Briley said immediately. "I know he's going to be pissed at me _if_ he and AJ don't get together, if they do then I think he'll be so preoccupied with…I don't know, having phone sex with her that he won't even notice me. In fact, he would probably thank me for getting them together."

"Do you really think your brother is going to _thank _you?" Kaitlyn scoffed. "Even if he and AJ get together, get married, have kids, live until they're 100, your brother is not going to thank you for that. We both know Nick."

"You're right, he'd probably take all the credit," Briley said, "but maybe I should just give him a heads up or something so he's not completely blindsided, I mean, I…well, no, I kind of like the idea of having my brother blindsided, but I don't want AJ to be mad at him."

"Maybe she needs to be mad at him to finally tell him that he's the guy she's constantly talking about and wanting to be around. I say do nothing, let it sort itself out, I think that's your best course of action. Does your bedroom there have locks?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'd hole yourself up in your room until at least tomorrow morning."

"You really think I should just not go through with telling them," it was a statement more than a question.

Kaitlyn had seen firsthand the song and dance number Dolph and AJ did around each other. It had been months of it, and she and E were getting pretty sick of it. Both Dolph and AJ were too stubborn to do anything about it, and it was getting to the point where they were going to lock them in a room until they did something about this situation. It was clear to everyone they were into each other. They always hung out together, they hardly ever spent time with anyone else, and yet, they still claimed friendship.

"Yes, I do, let the chips fall or whatever that saying is," Kaitlyn told him. "I'm seriously, Ryan, at least let them sort through this mess on their own."

"Okay, but if my brother is on the verge of killing me, I'm throwing you under the bus."

"Anything has got to be better than watching the two of them make googly eyes at each other without being together," Kaitlyn said, "although, I guess if they were actually making out all the time, that might get annoying too, but at least they'd be together, and I think AJ would probably make that private, so yeah, I think we're good."

"Fine, here goes nothing."

Dolph was sitting in his room, the little reading light next to his bed the only light on. He was reading a book he'd brought from home. He usually devoured books while on planes to pass the time. He loved reading, it was an escape from reality, and that always held appeal for him. He stretched a little and looked at the clock. It was nearing one in the morning, and he'd need to get some sleep soon since his family would have an early start in the morning. Things were always hectic around the holidays, and his family was not quiet.

He went back to his book when the phone rang. That was unusual. It was late, and it wasn't ike he had any booty calls in Cleveland (not anymore anyways). He set his book down next to him on the bed before grabbing his phone. _My Little AJ_. He smiled, this was a surprise. Maybe AJ was having trouble sleeping and wanted to talk to him. Maybe she was lonely, although he knew she was spending the holidays with her sister, and was hoping her brother could make it down with his family.

"Hey there," he said brightly as he answered the phone. "It's kind of late, don't you think, not that I mind. What's up?"

"Why didn't you call me?" her voice sounded hurt, and it touched him deeply, but he didn't know what she meant.

"Um, call you?"

"You said you were going to call me at midnight, you know, to _talk_ about what you told me earlier," AJ said, her voice softening, and it sounded like she'd been crying or something. Dolph was confused. He didn't know he was supposed to call her, was he supposed to call her? Their last conversation had been about meeting up in Chicago for the house show the day after Christmas. They'd coordinated their flights so they could arrive around the same time. He didn't remember saying he'd call her.

"You mean about our flights?" he wondered in confusion. "I thought we talked about our arrival times, did you like…need confirmation?"

"Not about that, about what we were texting about earlier," she said more forcefully, "about what you told me, why didn't you call me like you said!"

"AJ, I swear to God, I don't know what you're talking about," Dolph told her, "I didn't text you earlier, I got home to Cleveland, came to my parent's house, and I've just been here the entire night hanging out with my—I'm going to kill him, can you hold on?"

He didn't even wait to see if she would, pulling the phone away from his ear and going straight to his messages. He saw that there weren't any texts with AJ that were recent, but he wouldn't put it past his brother to text AJ then delete them. Oh, he was going to kill him alright, how dare he interfere in his life, what exactly did Briley say to AJ? Oh God, what if…? He couldn't even think about it, but he needed to find out.

"Um, AJ, there aren't any texts, but I think my brother…I think my brother was texting you and deleted them, I would have called you if I said I was going to call you," Dolph told her remorsefully. "I'm so sorry, for whatever he said, I don't know, but whatever he said, I'm so sorry."

"Oh," AJ said, her voice dropping, and it was almost as if he could hear her stomach dropping too. "I guess…well, um, that was really horrible of him to do that."

"Believe me, I know that," he said, "and tomorrow, he's going to wish that he was never born. He might not even make it to Christmas at this rate. How dare he, but um…what did he say exactly?"

"It's not important," AJ said quickly, trying to mask her voice, but he could see through it. You spend so much time with someone, you learn to pick up their speech patterns, and she was trying to hide whatever he said because it affected her, and he could tell. "Don't worry about it. Um, but he did say that, well, that you wanted to ride alone on the after Christmas tour, and I kind of already told E that we were, so I hope you don't mind that."

"No, I don't mind that," he really didn't, he'd love the alone time with her, but he had to push on, "AJ, what did my brother say to you? I'm not going to be angry at _you_. You didn't know that it wasn't me, but I just…I mean, I can ask him tomorrow, and I'd hope he'd tell me, but he might be missing a few teeth."

She giggled softly, "It really doesn't matter, and here I am, keeping you awake when it's late, and I didn't want to do that, and I'm sorry—"

"AJ, _please_, tell me what my brother said to you. I don't know if I can fix it, but I can at least try to undo the mess that he's made," he told her. He was his serious self right now, no jokes, no innuendos. The situation didn't call for it, and he didn't want AJ thinking that he thought this was a joke because it wasn't. Playing with someone's lives wasn't a joke, and he didn't appreciate his brother doing whatever he did.

He could almost hear AJ gulp on the other side of the call, "Um, he said, well, he just, he just said that…you liked me."

Okay, yeah, his brother was a dead man. How dare he do something like that! His feelings for AJ were his feelings, and if he wanted AJ to know what they were, he would have told AJ. So what if it took him a little longer, he was entitled to sort through his feelings before telling her. That was what he did. He sometimes just had to process before he acted on something, his brother should know that.

"Oh," Dolph said, not sure how to proceed now that he knew what this was about, "and, uh, how did that make you feel?"

"Well, um, how do you feel?" she threw the question back at him, and they were at a standstill. It was like a face-off, each of them standing pat, not wanting to give even an inch to the other. If someone said something and the other didn't respond in kind, it would affect their relationship. They'd spend months building this close friendship, and to stand on the precipice of something infinitely more, well, it was staring down the barrel of a very loaded gun.

"I mean, it's like…well, it upset you that I didn't call."

"I thought you were going to call," she said defensively.

"You've been crying though," he pointed out. He knew her crying voice, not because he'd seen her upset a bunch of times, but he remembered how she sounded after she won the diva's title, how she couldn't stop crying, how he hugged her for five minutes while she tried to quiet her sobs. She'd been so happy and she'd worked so hard, and 14 years of all that just poured out of her. He remembered stroking her hair and repeatedly telling her how proud of he was of her, and how the match was amazing. She'd eventually had to calm down for his match, and there was more crying after that, but he preferred not to think of that crying.

"Nah, allergies," AJ tried to cover, but it was useless.

"You…wanted me to call you and talk about it," he said slowly, trying to process what that could mean."

"Yes," she admitted, "I did. I was so…surprised when I read that text, so surprised that you could feel that way."

"Surprised in a good way?" he asked, letting the hope creep into his voice. If it was in a good way, maybe, just maybe that meant his feelings wouldn't have to be so hidden anymore. He thought he'd been so careful, but it appeared not, and it would be so nice to relieve himself of the burden of these feelings.

"Yes."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks so much for reading and reviewing the story, hope you enjoy the conclusion!

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><p>Dolph sat anxiously waiting for AJ's flight. His arrival was scheduled to be about fifteen minutes before hers, but he'd arrived early, and hers was arriving ten minutes late, which gave him time to think and analyze, and essentially drive himself crazy. He slumped down further into his chair, blending in with the usual airport cacophony, but to further deter anyone, he pulled the baseball cap on his head over his eyes just a tiny bit more. It wasn't that he didn't like meeting and talking with fans, but right now, he wasn't sure he could form words.<p>

AJ was showing up soon. She was going to walk off the air bridge, and they would actually have to talk face-to-face, and the thought terrified him. He wasn't normally a scared man, he was a wrestler, and with that came a sort of bravery, throwing your body around every which way and putting it up for injury. But talking to girls, especially girls he liked, was a recurring problem since he was a teenager. He tended to stutter over his words and come off cheesy rather than charming.

That's what happened the other night after AJ pretty much told him she liked him. The conversation turned to mush, which was why he was so damn nervous right now. After she'd said what he wanted to hear, he'd become nearly mute, and he was pretty sure he'd damaged any chances he had with her after that.

_"Oh."_

_"Oh? That's…I mean, that's all you have to say?" she asked nervously, her voice just as quiet as his was. "Does…do you…I mean, yeah, like, it was a nice surprise because, it was a nice surprise."_

_"Yeah, I'm…well, I'm glad it was a nice one, and everything," he said, mentally and nearly physically slapping himself in the face because he was such an idiot._

_"Good, so we should probably talk, right?"_

_"Yeah, talking would be, we probably have stuff to discuss," he said, still mentally berating himself. Why couldn't he just be smooth?_

_"Do you want to talk now?" she wondered. No, no he did not want to talk now! He couldn't even form coherent sentences, and he needed to prepare himself, and this wasn't even how his night was supposed to go. His brother started this entire thing, so it wasn't like he had anything prepared! He could not talk to her right now!_

_"Um, how about we do this in person," he said, "don't you think that would be better?"_

_"Yeah, I guess it would, I guess there'd be things to say."_

_"Oh, lots," he laughed then wondered why he was laughing. "Um, so yeah, we'll do that when I pick you up or when we meet up, yeah, when we meet up in Chicago, day after tomorrow."_

_"Yup, so until then?"_

_"I'll be thinking of you," he said. He cringed at how cheesy that sounded. He closed his eyes at his own stupidity. _This_ was why he'd never confessed his feelings before. Now he was being thrust into an uncomfortable situation whose outcome he didn't know._

_"I'll be thinking of you too," she said, and maybe he didn't ruin it. "Merry Christmas, Nick."_

_"Merry Christmas, AJ."_

"Nick…"

His throat went dry and he licked his lips as he looked up to see AJ standing there. He was tongue-tied. He didn't know what to say, what do you say to your potential something or another? What was she? The girl he liked? His potential girlfriend? What the hell could they call each other now? Friends? Friends with benefits? Wait, no, there were no benefits yet, were they're going to be though?

"Nick?" she repeated again. "Did you hear me?"

"Sorry," he shook his head, "I did, hey."

"Hey," she smiled at him, but it was just as awkward as he felt. He stood up so he was in front of her, and they stood there for at least a minute, neither one say anything as people continued to stream by them, unaware of the situation brewing right there in front of them.

"So we should go."

"Yeah, we should, the show is tonight, and we've got to get there and prepare and stuff," she nodded. They both started to reach for her bag, and they ended up bumping heads, both yelping at the contact. He pulled away first, and wanted to just be swallowed hall.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"It's okay," she rubbed the top of her head, "I got my bag though, it's okay."

"No, I insist," he told her.

"Well, I reject your insisting, and I can handle it, promise," she told him, giving him a look that told him to try and defy her one more time. He conceded, and she smiled triumphantly as she grabbed her bag. They pulled their suitcases through the airport to the rental car shuttles. After they got their car, they put their bags in and climbed into the front seats. "I think we should talk now," she told him, surprising him by blurting it out with no warning whatsoever.

"Now?" he asked in surprise. He thought they would wait until after the show, or maybe after the new year, or maybe after five years had passed and he worked up the courage, but right now? In the rental car garage?

"Yes, now, before the show, before we're surrounded by people and coworkers who need to talk about matches and everything. We'll never get time to talk if we wait until we're at work, and we should…I mean, don't you think we should talk about…stuff?"

"Yeah, of course I do, I just didn't expect it so soon," he admitted, staring straight ahead, suddenly finding the bumper of the car in front of him fascinating. This car was suddenly stifling, almost closing in on him.

"When did you expect it?"

"Not this soon."

"I like you," she just came out and said it, probably because it was clear he was not going to start this conversation. "When I got that text, I don't know, it was just like, I felt relieved that I wasn't the only person feeling this way. I thought that this was something great, but then when you didn't call, it just kind of told me how _much_ I liked you because you not calling me really, really hurt."

"I would never want to hurt you," he said. "I've liked you for a while too. I just…I'm not good at this, AJ."

"Good at what?"

"Relationships."

"But all your exes love you."

"Yeah, because I'm good at breaking up with them, but I'm not good at relationships. I'm not the type of guy who…I'm okay around girls I don't like, I can flirt, be smooth, whatever, charming, I don't know, but it's different, I don't know."

"I'm not good at them either," she shrugged. "Two relationships in the five years I've really been dating. That's not exactly knocking them dead."

"When did you…" He let his voice trail off.

She understood, "When you pulled my top down." She turned her head to look at him. He could feel her eyes trailing over his face, and he wanted to turn to look at her, but if he did, he was afraid she would see every emotion playing over his face. "That was the beginning of it. I know it didn't seem like a big deal, but it was to me. Not everyone would think to do that. You did. I don't know, since then, it's been like this building thing, never like, crazy or weird, but just this growing…feeling of…something…"

She was a lot more articulate than he was, but because she was, he had to match that or she wouldn't understand his feelings. "You're perfect." Damn it, that was too much. Now she was going to think he was a creeper or something. "I mean, ugh…"

"Nick," she took his hand gently. "I think you're really cute."

"I'm an idiot, but you actually are pretty perfect."

"Not totally."

"Well, no, nobody is…I'm sort of perfect, jk, jk, but what I'm trying to say is that I've liked you for a while, and it took my brother of all things to tell you how I felt because I'm a coward. I'm sorry it took me so long—"

"It's been a year since I started liking you, don't worry about the length of time."

"I just find myself wanting to spend all my time with you. When I'm around you, it's just…I'm not even sure how to describe it, but I feel like myself around you. Does that make sense?"

"Perfect," she told him, stroking his hand with her thumb. "I feel that way too. I like being around you, as a friend, as more than a friend, and I think that's the start of a good relationship, I hope so anyways. I think it should be two people who can be themselves a you don't think less of me, if anything, you think more of me."

"I wish I could be that articulate."

"You call that articulate? Wow, you are a sorry man," she laughed. "I just want to move forward with whatever this is, and I would hope you would too or else this is going to be a really awkward car ride."

"So you want to be my girlfriend? Oh God, please tell me I didn't just sound like a twelve year old? I did, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but it was a cute twelve year old," she told him sweetly. "I do want to be your girlfriend, if you want me to be, which I'm guessing you do because you just asked me, and we're really going to have to get better at this talking thing, aren't we?"

"We've got time, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I think we've got a little bit of time," AJ said, staring at him again. "Just enough time really."

"Yeah, definitely just enough—"

She leaned over and kissed him, her mouth coming over his and he didn't react at first, sitting there like an even bigger idiot. Then he moved his hand to cup the back of her head, and her body somehow moved over him until she was in his lap, and still she was managing to kiss him. She was impressed. She moaned lightly against his mouth, her arms coming to wrap tightly around his neck, and he wasn't even sure when she let go of his hand, but this was much, much better.

It wasn't their first kiss or their second or even their fifth, but it was perhaps as disgusting as those first ones had been, just less frenzied. Tongues were everywhere, and it was sloppy and messy, but neither cared as his hands found her thighs, and he thanked the heavens she was wearing a loose dress because it allowed him to run his hands over her legs and up her smooth thighs.

He moved his mouth from hers down to her neck, burying his face into her skin. He seemed to pull him in closer, and he let his tongue run over the vein pulsing in her neck. It felt like her pulse was accelerated, and he felt accomplished because of it. She kept giving these little mewling sounds, and he was content to show her his feelings rather than talking about them. He wasn't even sure how far they were going to go right now. What was the protocol for people who had made out in front of thousands of people who just started dating?

He couldn't think more about it before there was a knock on the window.

They both pulled apart quickly, looking to the window, and AJ covered her face as she saw a security guard. "Excuse me, I'm going to have to ask that you don't do that," he said through the window.

"Sorry, sorry," Dolph said, almost pushing AJ off him, but she was quicker than he was and got into the passenger seat. "We're leaving."

The security guy just nodded and walked off as AJ wiped at her mouth. "Oh my God."

"You want to get to work?"

"Yes, very much so," she blushed. He grabbed her hand and kissed it.

"We'll finish where we left off later, okay?"

"Do we have to thank your brother over this?" AJ wondered, thinking about how it was all Briley that got them here. Maybe they'd have to send him a gift or something.

"Oh no, he's still dead."

THE END


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